The Magnolia Affair (15 page)

“That’s fair.” He tilted his head. “I’ll cook and answer your questions if you eat. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Paxton moved briskly around the kitchen. I thought he might be afraid I’d back out if he didn’t hurry and put a plate of food in front of me. I retrieved the wine, not asking if I could open it. I didn’t care. I poured it into a cup and drank it like it was soda.

“Stir fry chicken ok?” He pulled out a cutting board.

I shrugged. “I don’t care.” It would all taste like paper. It didn’t matter what he prepared.

“Why aren’t you going to the police with this now?” I sat at the kitchen table.

“We have a few problems.” Paxton cut the chicken breasts into cubes, trimming the fat away.

“You’ve got emails that prove everything.”

The oil sputtered and spit out of the pan. He turned the gas to low. “Illegally obtained emails. I can’t just hand those over to the police.”

“Illegal? How are they illegal?”

“Audrey, I hired investigators. Computer hacking is not legal. I did it for the information—something I could hold over Hughes’s head with a threat to leak it to the press. It’s not admissible in court.”

“But, don’t you have something legal? Anything?”

“Not yet. I have my guys searching though.”

My teeth felt numb from the wine. “So you won’t admit to the police that you did something illegal even if it would point them in the right direction?”

“I’m not doing this to save myself. I showed you what I have. I’m going to help you.”

“But you’re going to do it in your own sweet time?” I accused.

He rested the knife in the sink, washed his hands, and then dried them in his apron before facing me. “We’ll catch them. I will find a way to lead the police to real evidence. You’ve got to trust me.”

“I just can’t believe any of this is happening. We know who did it and there’s nothing we can do.”

“Actually, not nothing.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been thinking about it. If you ran across something that proved Spencer knew about the affair or that Lewis was trying to stop the acquisition, it would be enough to create doubt. You could steer the police in the right direction.”

“But they already searched the house. They took his desktop. They boxed up files. There’s nothing work-related in the house. They didn’t find anything suspicious about Anderson & Lee or Detective Pendleton would have told me.”

“Did the police search the guest room? Your bedroom? His closet?”

I closed my eyes, trying to picture the morning the police showed up with the search warrant.

“No, they focused on the office. I don’t think they were in any other rooms.”

“Good.” He presented a plate of chicken, rice, and vegetables.

“I don’t understand. You want me to search for something that proves Spence knew about this?”

“No, I want you to plant it.”

I dropped my fork. “What in the hell, Paxton?”

“It sounds bad. It sounds downright awful. But, sometimes you have to do something a little outside of the lines to make sure you get justice.”

“And do you have this planted evidence?” I stabbed at the chicken and took a bite.

“Not yet. But I’m working on it. I needed to know you would want me to go forward first.” He shoveled rice into his mouth. “You tell me if you want to do this. Otherwise, I’ll drop the whole thing. I’ll burn the emails. They never happened.”

My hand flew to his, my eyes darting in a panic. “No, I want to do it. I have to do it. I’ll plant whatever evidence you have.”

A
nother two weeks passed before I heard from Paxton. The media was gone after a day. He was able to resume his campaign schedule. The press was gentle with him, I thought.

I took a leave of absence from Charleston Oaks Elementary, promising I would return once I sorted out my husband’s affairs. It seemed like an odd thing to say. Spence was gone. What difference did it make to him what was settled in his will or the process for his life insurance policy? They were my affairs. Always my affairs.

The new dean accepted my veiled resignation politely without having to say I wasn’t welcome back at Charleston Oaks. We both knew a public affair breached the school’s code of conduct for teachers.

Pepper and I were in the backyard. I tossed the grungy neon ball while he sped after it, sometimes accidentally nosing it farther ahead.

“Come here, Pepper.” He pranced at my feet. “Sit.” I tugged until the ball was free from his teeth. “Ok, here we go.” I hurled it thirty feet.

“Knock, knock.” Cricket stood at the arbor gate. She held up a casserole. “I brought you some dinner, honey.”

I flicked the latch and let her into the backyard. The grass tickled my ankles. It hadn’t been cut… since. Well, it needed to be cut.

“Thanks.” I accepted the Pyrex dish. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I kept meaning to stop by and I made one for Jill too so…”

“How is her mother doing? I didn’t think I should go to the funeral. But I wanted to.”

“She understood. I think the plan is now, since it’s just her mom, she’s going to move her into the guesthouse out back and hire a nurse. Maybe it’s two nurses. I can’t remember.”

I nodded as if I knew what she was going through. Jill’s father died the week after Spencer. I couldn’t handle the looks. It was better for Jill if I didn’t go. The focus should be her dad, not my sordid affair.

“I guess that’s good.” Pepper dropped the ball next to Cricket.

“But how are you? We missed you at book club.”

I laughed, more of a scoff. “Cricket, we both know I’m not going back to book club.”

“Why not?” she asked, then tossed the ball on the other side of the wilting tomatoes.

“Because. My husband was murdered and I had an affair with Paxton Tanner. I’m not going to make other people uncomfortable. I’m actually surprised you’re here.” Grief had made me blunt and edgy.

“What, you think I’m worried what people would think of me? So what? You had an affair. Who hasn’t? Can’t keep yourself hidden in here the rest of your life.”

I rolled my eyes at her. She was trying too hard to act liberal and non-judgmental.

“I know what people are saying. It’s better I stay away.”

“You’re in here beating yourself up, Audrey, but I’m telling you, it could have been any of us.”

I studied her. Her waxed eyebrows, and enhanced cleavage. “I don’t think so.”

“I would have done it. Heck, any of us would have slept with him. He’s charming and charismatic. Rich. Richer than all of us put together. And you can’t ignore that body.” She stopped short of fanning herself. “All I’m trying to say is we all have a weakness. It could have been any of us. No one cares that you had an affair. Seriously, honey. Don’t throw stones in glass houses—that whole thing fits this entire street.”

“It’s more complicated than that. I also have a dead husband.”

“We all miss Spence.” She threw the ball for Pepper again. “You need support now. Don’t be a recluse. You’re like…like…who was that author we read?”

“Virginia Woolf?”

“Yes. Like her.” She grinned.

“I’m not going to drown myself, Cricket.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. I’ve got to scoot. Heat that up on 325 for about thirty minutes. Ok?”

The casserole was starting to get heavy. “Ok.”

“And I’m serious. Don’t stay away. We can handle it.”

I lugged the dish up the deck stairs. “Thanks for dinner.”

“Call me sometime soon.” She waved before rounding the corner of the arbor. “I still have an open spot at my bridge table.”

I stuffed the casserole in the fridge. There was a missed call from Avery and a text from my mom. I’d get to them later. Paxton had asked me to come over tonight. He had discovered something we could use.

I showered and fed Pepper. I picked the chicken out of Cricket’s concoction as an excuse for dinner then locked the door behind me.

“Hey.” Paxton met me at his back door.

“Hey.”

“Wine?” Two glasses sat on the counter.

“Sure.”

“How have you been?” He had switched to drinking red.

“Waiting for you to find something. I want Hughes to go to jail. What’s taking so long?”

“I wanted something that would hold up in court.” He walked into the living room and sat on the couch. I had assumed we’d be in the office, looking through emails or whatever Paxton’s men had found.

“Can you just give it to me?” I held out my hand. “I’ll plant it and call the police tonight.”

“Hold on. I know you’re anxious, but let’s just talk through it.”

“Ok.” My shoulders relaxed slightly. I was anxious and nervous. I let the wine soothe the knots in my neck. “I didn’t mean to rush you.”

He fished something out of his pocket and held it up. “This is what you’re going to find.”

“A flash drive?”

“Yes. I think there’s enough on here to at least point the police to Hughes. They’ll start digging through his emails, and they’ll find what we need them to.”

“What’s on it?” I touched the top of it lightly.

“Do you want to know? Maybe it’s better if you’re in the dark about it.”

I leaned forward. “I can handle it. Tell me.”

“I had to think through what we could put on it. It has to look real. It has to be something Spencer would have saved. Something that he would have intentionally placed on the drive. That’s why I haven’t had anything for a couple of weeks.”

“But did you find something real? Is there real evidence on it?”

“Yes. But I think it’s best if, for your sake, I tell you everything is real.”

“All right. I accept that. It’s all real. Just tell me, Pax.”

His eyes softened with recognition. “You haven’t called me that in a while.”

“It’s just a habit. Don’t read into it.”

“Right.” He flicked the flash drive. “Anyway. This is loaded with some of Spencer’s personal files from his desktop. It also has tax documents. Copies of your Christmas letter. Pictures from a vacation.”

“How did you get those?” I questioned.

“Hackers remember? But no one should wonder why they’re there. Authentic personal files mixed in with the others make the flash drive look legitimate. They are copies of things from his desktop.”